Pineapple plant named &#39;Franklynn&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new pineapple ( Ananas comosus ) variety of the Bromeliaceae family was developed from a cross between the parental lines ‘Dry Sweet’×‘Hilo White’ and has been designated ‘Franklynn’. This new variety differs from its progenitors in having a higher Brix value, distinct fruit skin and flesh colors, and excellent eating quality. The plant is characterized by relatively (for pineapple) flat, spineless leaves that are green with purple coloration, and a peduncle that is partially or completely obscured by a high number of green bracts. The plant has a cylindrical and symmetrical fruit borne on a penduncle. The fruit has a lightly textured shell and flat fruitlets (eyes) with a medium sized crown. When unripe, the fruit shell is greyed-purple (RHS 187A), turning to a greyed-orange color (RHS 167B) when ripe. The fruit flesh appears cream colored and codes to a pale yellow (RHS 8D).

Latin name: Ananas comosus.

Variety denomination: ‘Franklynn’

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A new pineapple (Ananas comosus) variety of the Bromeliaceae family wasdeveloped from a cross between the parental lines ‘Dry Sweet’ and ‘HiloWhite’ pineapple plant varieties and has been designated ‘Franklynn’.

‘Franklynn’ is a selection from the F1 (first generation) hybrid of ‘DrySweet’ (seed parent, unpatented) and ‘Hilo White’ (pollen parent,unpatented).

‘Hilo White’ is a variety of unknown parentage cultivated in Hilo, Hi.having a white, sweet flesh. It is similar in appearance to ‘SmoothCayenne’ but is readily distinguished from ‘Smooth Cayenne’ by acomplete absence of spines on the leaves and a white flesh color.

‘Dry Sweet’ (PI 536941)² is a mutation of ‘Smooth Cayenne’ having dry,sweet fruits and a Brix value of 17-19%. The cultural characteristics of‘Dry Sweet’ have not been evaluated but they are assumed to be similarto those of ‘Smooth Cayenne’.

No record was found that either parent has been used in the productionof a hybrid pineapple.

Seeds of the F1 hybrid of ‘Dry Sweet’×‘Hilo White’ were first planted inWaimanalo, Hi. in the 1997. Between the years 2000 and 2002, one plantwas selected as being superior on the basis of vigor, fruit size,flavor, sweetness, and flesh texture. This plant was propagatedasexually from slips, shoots, or crowns of mature fruits. No variationsbetween asexually propagated plants were observed through the 2000 and2010 growing seasons, suggesting stability of ‘Franklynn’ whencultivated in this manner.

‘Franklynn’ is most similar to the commercial variety ‘Hilo White’ intaste and appearance. However, ‘Franklynn’ differs from ‘Hilo White” inthe following manners:

-   -   1. ‘Franklynn’ has dark orange skin on the mature fruit whereas        ‘Hilo White’ has a yellow skin.    -   2. ‘Franklynn’ has a shorter peduncle and many more green, leafy        bracts on the peduncle than does ‘Hilo White’.    -   3. ‘Franklynn’ fruit has yellow-white (cream) colored flesh        while ‘Hilo White’ fruit has white flesh.    -   4. The ‘Franklynn’ fruit is sweeter than the ‘Hilo White’ fruit.

‘Franklynn’ is similar to the variety ‘Dry Sweet’ in having a similargrowth and sweetness. However, ‘Franklynn’ differs from ‘Dry Sweet” inthe following manners:

-   -   1. The mature fruit of ‘Franklynn’ has dark orange shell rather        than the yellow shell of the fruit of ‘Dry Sweet’.    -   2. The fruit of ‘Franklynn’ is sweeter than that of ‘Dry Sweet’,        having a Brix value ranging from 21-26% while the Brix value of        ‘Dry Sweet’ ranges from 17-19%.    -   3. The fruit of ‘Dry Sweet’ is more acidic than that of        ‘Franklynn’.    -   4. ‘Franklynn’ has leaf margins that are completely smooth and        free of spines while ‘Dry Sweet’ has spines at the leaf tip        margins and occasionally at the leaf base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings serve, by color photographic means, toillustrate the new plant variety through the depiction of typicalspecimens of the new pineapple variety, as true as reasonably possible.

FIG. 1 illustrates a split composite photograph of vegetative plants oftypical ‘Hilo White’ and ‘Franklynn’ varieties.

FIG. 2 shows the leaf tips and leaf cross sections at mid-length of‘Hilo White’ (A), ‘Franklynn’ (B), ‘Dry Sweet’ (C) and enlarged leaf tipof ‘Dry Sweet’ showing small thorns (D).

FIG. 3 shows ‘Franklynn’ inflorescence at early anthesis demonstratingred bracts.

FIG. 4 shows a fruiting ‘Franklynn’ plant with slips, the peduncleobscured by green, leafy bracts.

FIG. 5 illustrates the ‘Franklynn’ hybrid with ripe fruit.

FIG. 6 shows the flesh of the ripe fruit of the ‘Franklyn’ hybrid(right) compared with the flesh of the ripe fruit of the ‘Hilo White’parent (left) in cross-section.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following detailed descriptions of the new plant variety are basedupon observations of specimens grown in Waimanalo, the island of Oahu,Hi. Color terminology and color designations set forth herein are inaccordance with the R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal HorticulturalSociety of London (R.H.S.) (2001).

-   Name: Ananas comosus var. ‘Franklynn’.-   Parentage:    -   -   III. Seed parent.—‘Dry Sweet’.        -   IV. Pollen parent.—‘Hilo White’.-   Origin: F1 hybrid of ‘Dry Sweet’ (PI 536941) and ‘Hilo White’.-   Classification:    -   -   III. Botanic.—Bromeliacease or pineapple family. Subfamily:            Bromeliodeae. Genus: Ananas. Species: comosus. Var. comosus;            Cultivar: ‘Franklynn’.        -   IV. Commercial.—Bromeliad fruit plant.-   Form: Terrestrial (in cultivation) with overlapping sessile leaves    that form a funnel-shaped rosette. Once reproductive development has    been initiated, either naturally or as a result of treatment with    ethylene or ethephon, the composite inflorescence (a sorus) is borne    upward through the leaf whorl as the peduncle elongates. The fruit    is composed of 50 or more individual fruitlets and fruit size is    determined by fruitlet number and average size. The fruitlets are    fused together and the aggregate forms the pineapple fruit. The    flower is composed of three sepals, three petals, six stamens, and a    trilobed style, which is attached to the ovary. Three thick, fleshy    sepals and a subtending fleshy bract form the outer covering of each    fruitlet and these structures are fused together to form the fruit    shell. The inflorescence is a sorus. (FIG. 3) A few to several    rootable offshoots (slips) are initiated below the inflorescence    during or subsequent to anthesis., Stem offshoots (suckers) form on    the main plant stem. These are retained to produce a subsequent crop    after the initial fruit harvest or can be harvested and used as    planting material. Production of offshoots (suckers, hapas and    slips) varies with the size of the plant at fruiting and with    season. Slip numbers for ‘Franklynn’ vary from 1 to 8 per plant,    with a mean of 3.9±2.4 (n=10). Plant height at fruiting ranges from    66 to 76 cm and mean plant height is 70.2±4.2 cm. Mean height from    the ground to the base of the fruit is 53±4.1 cm.-   Stems: Stem is upright, club-shaped and tapering sharply at its    base. It is completely sheathed by overlapping leaves arranged in    acropetal fashion, and the plant is heart-shaped in cross section.    Stem diameter is 6.2 to 6.3 cm measured above the tapered base for a    4.4 kg plant.-   Leaves:    -   -   V. General.—leaves are sessile, lanceolate in form,            elongated and succulent, with acuminate apex shape, and            forming a rosette with a 5/13 phyllotaxy. Depending on            growing conditions, the number of leaves per plant at the            time of forced flower induction may vary from 40 to 60. The            breakage resistance of the leaf is low, and foliage attitude            is open (Descriptors for Pineapple, IBPGR, Rome 1991).            Trichomes cover the abaxial (lower) leaf surface and, less            common in commercial pineapple cultivars, also cover the            adaxial (upper) side of the leaves, rendering it            silvery-white in color. (FIG. 1) (Descriptors for Pineapple,            IBPGR, Rome 1991).        -   VI. Color.—The color of the upper surface of the D leaf            (youngest physiologically mature leaf) is green (RHS 137B)            to grey green (RHS 189A). The pigmented area where            anthocyanins are more dominant is greyed purple (RHS 183C).        -   VII. Margins.—The leaves are completely smooth and free of            spines. Thickness of the longest leaf ranges from 2.3 to 2.7            mm at middle section when the leaf water storage tissue is            fully turgid.        -   VIII. Leaf size.—Depending on growing conditions, the length            of the D leaf may vary from 63 to 84 cm, with a mean of            74.4±7.5 cm. Leaf width at mid-length ranges from 5.25 to            5.5 cm, mean of 5.3±0.29 cm. Longitudinal undulations are            present across the upper surface of all leaves and the            undulations run the entire length of the leaf. Average            weight of the ‘D’ leaf at the time of forced induction            ranges from 41 to 70 g (10 leaves), mean of 51.7±9 g. Leaves            in cross section form a shallow trough. (FIG. 2).-   Inflorescence: (FIG. 3)    -   -   IV. General.—Pineapple inflorescence is a composite (sorus),            and each floret has a self-incompatible bi-sexual flower            containing three sepals, six stamens, three stigmas, and            three carpels. The inflorescence is borne on a cylindrical            peduncle that is obscured by a relatively large number of            green, leafy bracts. The mean days from forced reproductive            development on Dec. 3, 2009 to opening of the first flower            was 91±3 (n=7).        -   V. Floral bract.—The floral bract, which covers            approximately ⅓ of the fruitlet, is of aristate apex and            truncate base.        -   VI. Petals.—Petals are smooth with an oblong shape and a            closed orientation. The petal number is 3. The apex is            subacute and the base is truncate. Petal color is red purple            (RHS 88A), and the area without color is medium (typical            range for pineapple is none, small, medium and large;            Descriptors for Pineapple, IBPGR, Rome 1991).-   Fruit: (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6)    -   -   V. Fruit shape and outside color (FIG. 5).—The fruit shape            is conical. The number of fruitlets varies with plant size            at forced induction of reproductive development and, in            plants producing the largest fruits, was 121.3±16.3 (n=6)            per fruit. The coloration of the fruit shell ranges from            greyed-orange (RHS 167B) to greyed-yellow (RHS 162C).        -   VI. Fruit dimensions.—Fruit length is 14.2±1.4 cm; fruit            diameter is 12.5±0.8 cm; and fruit weight is 1399±249 g.            Fruit core diameter is 3.0±0.5 cm. Mean fruitlets per fruit            is 112.8±15.6 (n=10).        -   VII. Crown characteristics.—Crown length is 21.8±3.4 cm            (n=13); crown weight is 305.2±119.6 g (n=13).        -   VIII. Flesh and juice characteristics at maturity. (FIG. 6            right side).—The flesh is compact, fine, smooth-creamy, low            in fiber, mildly acidic and very sweet with a pleasant mild            aroma. The fruit core is relatively low in fiber and edible.            Flesh color is creamy and codes to a pale yellow (RHS 8D).            Fruit mean Brix value (TSS) is 22.9±2.5 (n=13); titratable            acids 7.7±0.8 meg/100 ml juice (n=13); ascorbic acid            11.8±4.5 mg/100 ml juice (n=10), which is a relatively low            level typical of ‘Smooth Cayenne’; and has a PH range of 4.1            to 4.4, with a mean of 4.29. Fruit translucency is 1.4±0.7            (n=13) on a scale of 1 to 5.        -   V. Days to maturity.—Average days from forcing (winter            forcing, duration would be shorter with summer forcing) to            flowering is 91±3 (n=7), and from forcing to harvest is            191±4 (n=8).-   Peduncle: The colored peduncle bracts have a lanceolate form. The    average number of these bracts is 10.5, with a longest bract length    of 33 cm. Bract color is deep pink (RHS 46B-C). The peduncle is    partially to completely obscured by green, leafy bracts. (FIG. 4)    Peduncle length is 20.9±3.7 cm (n=35). Peduncle diameter is 3.04±0.3    cm at middle section.

1. A new and distinct variety of pineapple plant designated ‘Franklynn’substantially as shown and described herein.